Japanese: The Spoken Language
Book 1
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| Author | Eleanor Harz Jorden, Mari Noda |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Japanese textbook |
| Publisher | Yale University Press |
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Publication date
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1987 (Books 1 and 2), 1989 (Book 3) |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| ISBN | |
Japanese: The Spoken Language (JSL) is an introductory textbook series for learning Japanese. JSL was written by Eleanor Harz Jorden in collaboration with Mari Noda. Part 1 was published in 1987 by Yale Language Press, Part 2 in 1988, and Part 3 in 1990. The series differs from most Japanese language textbooks in many ways, most basically in that it focuses exclusively on the spoken language and leaves discussion of any aspect of the written language to other textbooks, such as the parallel series Japanese: The Written Language.
The textbook is controversial both among students of the language and among pedagogical researchers. Detractors of the textbook take issue with its usage of rōmaji, the complex grammatical explanations, the emphasis on memorization, and the relatively small number of vocabulary items (among other things). However, these same points are cited as strengths of the textbook by supporters. The approach is based on Jorden's decades of experience in teaching Japanese and pedagogical research, and was preceded by her 1960s textbook, Beginning Japanese, which JSL supersedes.
Beyond the focus on the spoken language alone, the text has a number of unusual features.
The text is centered around a sequence of dialogs and grammar drills, which are practiced and memorized, and detailed linguistic analysis of Japanese grammar. Vocabulary is taught in the context of these dialogs, rather than as isolated lists. This approach – dialogs and pattern practice – is heavily influenced by the audio-lingual method (ALM), which has since fallen out of favor, though the text is not strictly speaking an ALM text, providing grammar explanations rather than only memorization, for instance.
The terminology is at times non-standard – for example, 形容動詞 are referred to as na-nominals, as they behave grammatically almost identically to 名詞 (nouns), which are clearly nominals. This choice has some support in Japanese scholarship, though traditionally these words are referred to as "na-adjectives" or "adjectival nouns". Similarly, the gender differences in spoken Japanese are referred to as blunt/gentle, rather than male/female.
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